Geise 1

Jack Geise
Mrs. Barnes
Honors ELA 8
25 September 2015
The Strength From Losing
Arnold Schwarzenegger said, Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles
develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is
strength. Both novels revolve around a young protagonist, who starts of weak and helpless,
largely unaware of how strong they will become by the end of their stories. In The Book Thief by
Markus Zusak, Liesel is a girl that has witnessed her brothers death and had to leave her mother
right after that event. She is adopted by Hans and Rosa Hubermann, and throughout the story
becomes stronger with the help of different events and people. Likewise, in Harry Potter: The
Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter is an orphan, who with hardly any memories of
his parents, he gets pushed around by a lot of people, but once he finds out more about who he
really is and his past, with the help of his friends, who could be considered his family he
becomes much stronger and stands up for himself. The authors of both use character
development, plot, and foreshadowing to follow the common theme that people are stronger than
they think they are.
Character development is one of the main elements the authors use in both books. Harry
and Liesel get stronger with the help of friends and new families. In Harry Potter, Harry starts
out being easily pushed around by pretty much everyone, and never fights back, as it states,
...but there was no escaping Dudleys gang...Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon...were all quite
happy to join in Dudleys favorite sport: Harry Hunting, (31), Similarly, in The Book Thief,

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Liesel feels so confused and does not even know what to do with herself, surrounded in guilt and
nightmares, as said, Those first few nights were definitely the hardest. Every night, Liesel
would nightmare...She would wake up swimming in her bed, screaming, and drowning in the
flood of sheets, (36). So, though both of these characters are very frail in spirit, they grow
stronger throughout the whole of their stories, and end up overcoming outstanding obstacles.
One example of this is when Harry defeats what is known to be one of the most evil beings ever,
Voldemort. Comparing this to the beginning of the story, where he was bullied by his dumb fat
cousin, he has definitely come very far. In like manner, Liesel, overcomes her nightmares almost
entirely, stating, She smiled and smiled, and when it all came out, she walked home and her
brother never climbed into her sleep again (473), proving how she got over her brother's death
and in turn, defeated the nightmares, the same way Harry defeats Voldemort. Both of these
authors clearly show how important character development is overall to the themes of these
novels.
Plot, is another element the author uses to help develop the theme. In The Book Thief,
The book thief looked down again, at the words...her blood loudened. The sentences blurred.
The white page was suddenly written in another tongue, and it didn't help that tears were now
forming in her eyes. She couldn't even see the words anymore, (77) and then later, Liesel
opened one of her books and began to read...soon, a quietness started bleeding through the
crowded basement...she could feel their [everyone in the basement] frightened eyes on
her...Liesel read on, (381), which shows how Liesel gains so much courage between these two
similar events in her life, showing how much stronger she has become. Correspondingly, in
Harry Potter, Harry reacts differently even just over the course of a few weeks simply shown in
the text when stated, ...said Harry, feeling even more stupid by the minute...said Harry, wishing

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he could say something a bit more interesting (77-78) and then later, right after Draco insults
Ron, so Harry reveals some courage where it is stated, Both Harry and Ron stood up...Oh so
you're going to fight us, are you? Malfoy sneered. Unless you get out now, said Harry, (109)
displaying how just like Liesel, Harry changes between similar type events, starting off very
timid but moves toward a much more outgoing and courageous boy who stands up for his new
friend, just within the span of a few weeks. The authors of these publications clearly display how
important the plot can be to the theme.
While some may argue that the plot does not help the theme develop, they fail to
recognize that the text clearly shows both Liesels and Harrys strength grow through some of the
key events. This is easily spotted in The Book Thief, from when Liesel starts out stealing from
Ilsa, almost just out of spite, to when she later realizes that not only does Ilsa know about the
stealing, but she does not feel that need to and understands that it is wrong, which itself takes
courage to admit. Nearly identically, in Harry Potter, where the author over and over shows how
Harry has courage growing inside of him throughout the book, such as when he first gets sorted,
A test? In front of the whole school? (115) and then toward the end, When Harry walked in
there was a sudden hush, and then everybody started talking loudly at once. He...tried to ignore
the fact that people were standing up to look at him, (304). This shows how though Harry is
uncomfortable in both situations he reacts much calmer and more collected the second time.
These quotes, though from different books, when looked at together are very much alike and
show that readers have failed to account for this point of view when contravening the theme that
is so obviously crafted.
Lastly, foreshadowing is used by the authors of these books to develop the theme. In
Rowlings novel, she cleverly uses the choosing of Harrys wand to foreshadow their owners.

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This is clearly shown when it is stated, Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his
fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down, through the the dusty air,
and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of
light on to the walls, (85). This sentence, though on the uppermost level just a small choosing of
a wand that is right for Harry, it could also be much more, maybe foreshadowing. When Harry
first learns that he is a wizard, it is like that warmth, so much knowledge revealed to him all at
once. Next, come the rising of the wand, not unlike all the rising actions, where he gains courage
and power. Finally, there is the release of magic, mirroring the climatic battle between Harry and
Voldemort, with the lights and fireworks representing the celebrations and joy that come from
Harry defeating Voldemort. In the same way, Liesels future is foreshadowed in quite a few
different ways. One such example of this is where she initially picks up, or rather steals, her first
book, The Gravediggers Handbook at her brothers burial. This book may seem like a way for
her to hold onto her brothers death, but in reality, she instead feels that once she finishes it, she
will be contempt knowing that she would have been able to bury her brother, as well as get past
her nightmares and guilt, as previously stated. Both authors use foreshadowing in a very creative
way to develop the theme.
Just as Schwarzenegger stated, Liesel and Harry were certainly not constantly winning,
rather, they lost much more than they won, but that is where these two protagonists differ from
many people. They gained their strength from their struggles. Throughout both The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak and Harry Potter: The Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, the theme that people
are stronger than they think is developed through character development, plot, and
foreshadowing. Humans as a whole need to think about how strong they are now, and what they
could become, if only they started to gain from their losses, and uncover their inner strength

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Works Cited
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Harry Potter. NY: Listening Library, 1999.
Print.
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print.